HP-48S vs. 48G vs. 42S

[JDW]

Ron, Jeff and Accutron, many thanks for your time and detailed information. I found your replied incredibly helpful and informative.

I am an EE who has used the same HP-28S since 1990. I use it off and on. I love the dual keyboards, making entry very easy and keeping the overall look very clean. It still works except for the up-arrow key on the front which requires me to press against the back of the case to make it function. I don't like the battery door, but that plastic piece on mine still is not broken. Sadly, I can't tell you how many times my code has been wiped only because I cannot swap out batteries within the 90 seconds or so that the internal capacitor keeps the memory alive! (Which means you have to key-in everything again.) So of course when I evaluate other HP calcs I compare with my HP-28S and is why I prefer a BLACK LCD over BLUE.

I like the compact shape and size and color scheme and overall design of the 42S, which is why I have recently looked into it. But to pay $300+ for plastics manufactured in 1990-1993 isn't a prudent buying decision in my opinion, unless you are a collector who intends to put it behind glass.

If HP can make a modern replica of the HP-12C, they ought to do the same for other popular legacy calcs. If built properly, that would theoretically make them last many years. It's not impossible to manufacture something properly these days. You merely have to have the desire to do so.

I agree about the color scheme of the 48S. The light blue and orange silkscreens on black is more aesthetically pleasing than the silk on other 48's.

I've pondered a 50G, but the look of that thing is just awful. (My apologizes to those of you who may like it.) Other than the enter key being small and inappropriately placed, perhaps the biggest eye-sore of all are those round, silver arrow keys. Why round? Why silver? Also, the presence of the silk just above the SYMB key make the arrow keys appear to look shifted downward, rather than being properly vertically centered. There are also gaps in each of the 4 corners of those arrows where there is nothing at all, making the overall appearance of the calc look very unbalanced. I wouldn't even care about these negatives it wasn't for the fact that the 50G's feature set and screen are so appealing.

So while mulling my options I keep asking myself...

• Go with a fast calc with great features that looks awful? (50G)
• Go with a slower calc with good features that looks outstanding? (48-series)
• Get hired by HP as a senior exec empowered to make a great calc again so Bill Hewlett and Dave Packard can finally rest in peace and bring joy to the HP community.